Soul Link slated for end of December; CGs to be removed
December 2nd, 2009, by
Posted in Translation
, Tagged: MangaGamer, Project Navel, Soul Link
MangaGamer has now announced that Soul Link, their second offering from Project Navel will be available at the end of December. Furthermore, there is now an official website for the English version of the game, with a synopsis and a link to download the opening movie. The game is marked as uncensored, but there is a note posted on the official webpage, which states that “due to uncontrollable issues, a part of the CGs in the original work could not be included.”
UPDATE: We received an email from MangaGamer stating that six CGs “having an arguably underaged looking character naked” will be removed from the game release. The reasoning behind this was that “[they] don’t want to risk getting the law in the way of [their] future releases” and that “it was a difficult decision made under the current circumstances.” Furthermore, should this happen with future releases, “[they] will be sure to let you know before the release.” The email also states that no text was removed from the game. EvoSpace, a volunteer for MangaGamer, has posted clarifications on the CG removal, stating that they are all of Nanami, who is an unnaturally “underaged” character in the game. All future releases run the risk of having CGs removed for underaged characters, although previous releases will not be touched due to difficulty. He goes on to point out that:
There will be an actual person who will be imprisoned if this goes in the wrong way, and surely affect their future releases, and worst case this whole project will be gone. It is a risk they couldn’t take and it was a difficult decision for them as well.
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:55 pm
In other words, no loli for us…
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:25 am
Wait, so they are gonna censored the loli parts?
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Yep, they are going to censor the loli parts.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:59 am
According to EvoSpace:
“I will post the situation with them here because its taking them too long to simply update the news.
(They are currently running around in a frenzy trying to put Higurashi into shape so I can’t blame them… >.<)
The CGs removed are indeed Nanami’s. A total of 6.
It was decided in their last meeting that they will remove CGs showing arguably underaged characters naked out of the games. Of course the most threatening is the United States child pornography law, but they are dealing with the world here.
There will be an actual person who will be imprisoned if this goes in the wrong way, and surely affect their future releases, and worst case this whole project will be gone. It is a risk they couldn’t take and it was a difficult decision for them as well.
Of course, no part of the storyline will be removed. Also, since it is difficult to go back and fix games that were already released for fairness’s sake, they are just doing this to their future releases.
At least they are telling us ahead of time before you make the purchase.
As for now, that’s all I can say…”
December 4th, 2009 at 6:22 am
it’s shocking how many people who like VN’s greatly prefer loli images (or sexual images period). :C
December 4th, 2009 at 7:01 am
@unkind:
There’s a reason they’re playing VN’s and not, say, reading Plato’s “Republic” or Franz Kafka.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:40 am
>>6
Yes, people are playing visual novels like Higurashi and Umineko for the sex…
December 4th, 2009 at 7:56 am
Not to mention that outrageous sex romp Ever 17 ^_^
December 4th, 2009 at 10:12 am
I understand where MG’s fear is coming from, but I am not happy about it (even though am NOT a loli fan). This could set a proceeding that might see the removal of (good) titles that happened to have lolis in them (ie. Little Busters). I believed that one of the main reasons that MG operates from Holland (?) is to protect itself from *this* very problem, wasn’t it?
for now i will protest this decision by delaying the purchase of Soul Link until a later date (when I might actually fell like playing it, which would be after I have finished my current backlog). And this will apply to all of their titles that saw to some CGs or story lines being removed (the same will apply to JAST). I am willing to stomach changed CGs, but not the removal of them*.
any way… they *DID* inform us that the CGs have been removed almost a month *BEFORE* the *RELEASE* of the title, so I don’t see a problem with the warning time frame.
* although, if the CGs are for a character that does look like a child (not just a loli), then I am willing to overlook the removal.
December 4th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
oh wow
too late to be announced
December 4th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
I can’t blame MG for this. They can’t just protest the government. They are only one small company.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Please keep in mind that the game has yet to be released, so change is still possible. Please pester Manga Gamers, email them, and make it impossible for them to ignore the voice of the people.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
I suggest to release two version of the game — one for USA (with removed CGs),
one — for Europe (without censorship). Problem solved ;)
December 4th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Its fine with me, at least they let us know that they do this.
Too bad that some CGs will be cut, but its better than cancelling
the entire project because of that.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
“Its fine with me, at least they let us know that they do this.
Too bad that some CGs will be cut, but its better than cancelling
the entire project because of that.”
This time at least, Koihime however would be better unreleased than butchered.
December 5th, 2009 at 6:18 am
>>13
Only possible if they print hard copies. But MG doesn’t play by this rule.
December 5th, 2009 at 6:42 am
Someone feel like explaining how Jast allowed every recent loli in their games to be uncensored, with the sole exception being 3 scenes in Family Project (and even then, they still had the H scene of the loli, with their usual 18+ disclaimer), despite having a physical location in the US where they ship physical copies throughout the US and Canada, yet MangaGamer, being a download only company based in the Netherlands, has trouble with loli. It seems to me that MangaGamer should have at least the same basis for censoring as Jast at most, since the circumstances of Jast seem riskier than MangaGamer. .
December 5th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Thank god. Anyone who wants to see a 10 years old kid having sex is sick. Good going MG.
December 5th, 2009 at 7:54 am
>18 No Loli:
1) where did you get the 10 years figure from?! (if it is a spoiler then don’t answer)
2) this is 2D, a make believe character that does NOT exist in real life. The only thing that “can be considered” real about her is the voice… and it was acted by an over 20 years old woman.
3) in live TV and films, you have older people pretending (acting) to be younger. Example, Harry Potter, I believe that all the actors in it are over 18, yet they act as young school kids.
you really need to tell the difference between “reality” and “fantasy” and in this case, it is a clear that the “fantasy” had to be suppress out of fear of prosecution, something I believe that the freedom of speech was meant to protect.
P.S. if it is illegal then it is illegal, if it is not illegal, then this is censorship and the fear of being prosecuted that is holding them back.
December 8th, 2009 at 3:16 am
>19
1) I don’t care if she is 16 and looks 16. What I find sick is people jerking of because the character is made to look in her 10s or 11s. A kid without fully developed sex organs. No pubic hair.
2) Obviously she was designed to appease people who’d like to have sex with a kid. 2D or 3D, the intent of it is to depict a kid having sex. It’s the thought that counts. It’s all about you fucking a kid, things you can’t do in realife. We all know that japan is kind of twisted sexually.
3) So? What Harry Potter has to do with a game where you fuck a 10 year looking girl?
No, freedom of speech wasn’t made to protect your sick fantasy of fucking kids. Face it. It’s morally wrong. If it wasn’t wrong, you would no be ashamed to, for example, show it to your friends.
December 8th, 2009 at 7:20 am
>20 No Loli
so it is *NOT* illegal, you just find it immoral and because of that it should be removed?
December 8th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
No Loli: Aside from the fact that I also find sick what you wrote about in your first paragraph, the main point is that your way of thinking is much more sick than things people fantasize about. Who the fuck are you to tell poeple what they can or cannot think or do if they don’t harm other poeple? You are the same as every fucking censor and every fucking dictator in this sick world who is trying to tell people what is good for them and what is “morally wrong”. Go do your morally correct things and don’t prey into things you don’t understand.
December 10th, 2009 at 4:45 am
So go ahead, jerk off imagining yourself fucking a 8 years old kid. That’s so healthy. And I’m a fascist dictator because I think that adults should NOT have sexual attraction for kids. Oh boy, am I and society sick or what? I’m such a mean person, boo-hooo, offending your right to dream about having sex with kids… Wait, why don’t you just go and tell your parents and co-workers that you jerk of to CGs of kids having sex? If that’s so normal, why can’t you do it?
You can have all of your sick fantasies you want, but pedophilia? That is lower than anything else I can dream of. Let’s say you have children like I do. I’m not an overbearing, overprotective parent, I’m pretty liberal. But if I just imagine, let’s say, a neighbor of mine jerking of to my child, I’d kill him. If it was your daughter, would you still think it’s fine?
At least MG doesn’t think like you do and seems to share the same view that I do: having sex with 8 years old kids is not right and should not be depicted in any way.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:02 am
No Loli, we already get your point so stop trolling.
Basically you want all eroge (and even all ages version) to be submitted to a Catholic priest* for approval and to be “morally corrected” before being released. And while at it, all anime and manga should be “morally corrected” as well.
why stop at religion? The approval panel will include representatives from parents association, think of the children association, anti-p0rn association, anti gun association and few more associations. And naturally this will have to apply to all forms of entertainments (why stop at Japanese anime?)
* why should *your* morals be the standard that everyone follows?
any way, you seem to be the type to share your eroge with your family and co-workers. Just because you are a pervert who like to share his/her sexual fantasies with the world doesn’t mean that everyone else have to do the same. We enjoy our privacy.
as for you having kids, what you are saying here is that you are having an issue with lolis because you have kids, otherwise you wouldn’t have given a damn (and you haven’t for many years). Just be careful, for a “pretty liberal” parent, you are trying to build restrictions to the world that your children will grow-up into (yes, they will grow-up one of this days).
by the way, I actually enjoy big breasts girls and don’t find loli or rape title appealing (I actually find the later sicking). But I will not stand for censorship just because what is being censored is something I don’t find appealing.
so if you are for the creation of a “secrete government panel” that will approve books, music, movies and games before they are released. Then please take your fight somewhere else, novelnews can’t help you there. And before you say this is not what you wanted, this is the actual side-effect of what you want.
P.S. just because someone enjoys loli titles doesn’t mean that they will harm a real child (or even enjoy looking at them), if anything, some of the lolicons out there are actually parents themselves. This same argument apply to rape titles as well. And you can expand it to 3D games like “CoD MW2″, just because someone enjoy playing a game where they get to shot people, doesn’t mean that they will go out a start killing people.
December 13th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
It’s not about religion. I don’t have one. It’s about turning freedom of speech in a license to do whatever you want, even if it’s imagining yourself fucking a 8 years old kid. That hurts the dignity of our very core as humans.
I do not share them, but I don’t see shame in what I do. But I would not say that if I shared your view on pedophilia.
I never said my morals should be standard that everyone follows. Sometimes an act may not be unlawful but may not be the right thing, such as drawing kids having sex. Sometimes an act may be lawful but not the right thing.
It is not that it’s in my concept wrong. It just is wrong overall. It’s something that should not be portrait ed or imagined. It is like rape: it diminishes the human dignity. Why would you find such a cruel act exciting?
And no, you should not try to distort my argument. When I did not have kids, I never jerk-off to them. And thank you for your concern about what I teach to my children. They can make their own decision in time, I just hope they don’t decide to jerk-off to children one day.
I see that you have normal sexual preferences. That’s is good. We don’t see things so differently.
My opinion diverges from yours in one thing: for us humans our nature, our core is defined by prepositions when we are born and mostly by experiences from every moments of our lives. Seeing a movie, having a friendship, being taught by our parents, etc helps creating our nature, who we are. Of course, you can not censor everything bad that exists; and of course, depending on the point of view, nothing is truly bad. But I do believe that something that portraits pedophilia in a good and acceptable way is one of those RARE extreme cases where censorship should apply. And such is rape, which are one of those things you can not do no matter what.
And yes, it obviously does not mean that they will harm real child. But maybe there’s a small possibility that it will make someone that has a “positive” reactionto it 0,1% more likely to do harm. Like I said, everything that we see and experience helps influencing who we are.
In games like CoD MW2 you don’t really play it to kill people, you play it because it is cool to be a special ops.
Please do not try to distort this argument by saying something stupid like what you said in “as for you having kids(…)”. It is impolite in an intelligent discussion. I am not trying to win anything here, I’m just justifying why I think that some things like loli should be censored. It is not my fight or anything like that.